What it Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century

Jim Keenan wrote Not Taught to change the fact that nobody is teaching us the keys to success in today’s world. We are living through the change of an era. The world has shifted from the industrial age into the information age. We have never had more access to information than we have now.

“New rules and approaches to success in the information age are taking hold and becoming pervasive”, says Keenan. He wrote this book because he wants to show others “what it’s going to take to compete in this new era of information and frictionless communication.”

You Deserve to Know the New Rules of the Game

Keenan believes that “you deserve to know what the playing field looks like. You deserve to know the new rules of the game.”

Jim explains what it is that changed so dramatically and how we can all capitalize on it and set ourselves up for success. He not only explains what this change is and what we need to do in order to crush it in our field in today’s world, he also talks in details about how he succeeded himself and teaches us how we can do it as well. This book is for everybody who wants to do more and be better, anybody in transition, anybody looking for their first job or simply wanting to step up their game at their current job.

This book promises that once you “embrace the new keys to success, your world is going to look a whole lot different. You will have more opportunities at your disposal. You will know more people. More people will know you and seek you out. You will make more money. You’ll never be unemployed. You will have complete control over your situation and life.”

The Reach Revolution

The internet has brought us together and has made it extremely easy to meet new people anywhere and anytime. It has never been easier to connect with somebody living in a different country or even on a different continent. The possibilities are endless. We just have to recognize them and embrace them.

Keenan notes that to really kill it in the 21st century you have to be constantly networking. Reach is one of the most valuable assets you can posses. Let’s just take some of your favorite athletes as examples. Some of them have not competed in years, but still make millions of dollars from endorsements. This is because they are able to reach and influence the decisions of large amounts of people.

The funny thing is that you do not have to be a famous athlete to build a strong online community and become influential in the area of your expertise. The key to reaching millions is building a strong personal brand.

Branding Yourself

Keenan points out in his book that we cannot afford to be digitally anonymous anymore. “If you expect to find what you’re looking for every time you search Google, then you can bet your ass, so does everyone else – and that includes finding you!”

The rules of the game have changed and because we all live online, not having even a minimum online presence is a problem. We Google everybody: our friends, our colleagues, the nannies we consider hiring, our neighbors.

If we don’t find anything about them, we get disturbed. How come we can’t find anything online about them? Are they hiding something? But what if they do have a nice online presence supporting what they claim to be?

It is no longer sufficient to be known only among the people that you have met personally. You have to brand yourself online and constantly demonstrate what the value you can bring to the table is.

As much as some of you might still be hesitant about jumping on social media to promote what you do best, you should give it a try. Pick a platform that makes the most sense for your industry and start sharing relevant content and interacting with people from your industry!

Demonstrate How Good You Are by Creating Content

The easiest way to demonstrate to the world how good you are at what you do is by creating content. Keenan advises to “think about sharing your knowledge like advertising”.

“Your content let’s your ideas, knowledge, thoughts, perspective, and narratives tell your story. It is the most powerful way to attract new employers, customers, partners, and collaborators.” “Content is a living mouthpiece for what you know, how you do your job, what you are passionate about, and how you live your life.”

On the next pages of his book, Keenan teaches you how to make the first steps. He shows you how to create your own value proposition, how to pick the kind of content to create, how to stay committed and consistent and how never run out of ideas.

This book is written by somebody who walks his talk and has a proven record of success. He lived through the mergers and experienced the layoffs he talks about in his book. He has built his personal brand from scratch and through his blog he built a following of tens of thousands of people which ultimately lead to launching his own company, A Sales Guy Consulting and Recruiting.

If you currently don’t have any presence online and don’t want to postpone building one until it is too late, order this book today. You will be taught how to establish yourself as a thought leader, demonstrate your expertise, and grow by helping other people grow along the way. Give it a try – there’s nothing to lose!

Michaela Underdahl

Michaela is a Community Manager at Nimble. She is passionate about Customer Service, everything Social Media and growing our Nimble community. She tweets as @MichaUnderdahl.